The radical makeover of the music giant EMI, which has provoked an irate Robbie Williams to "strike", is a reflection of the metamorphosis of the global music industry. Top of the Pops may be dead, but CDs, MP3 players and file-sharing have given birth to digital music. It is more mobile and personal then ever, making the listener king, and the music industry is struggling to maintain control.

The music industry is a great topical choice for the classroom. Teachers can hand the mantle of expertise to their students, allowing them to bring their knowledge, experience and opinions to bear on the subject, while the teaching simultaneously develops their understanding and skills. It's relevant to music and ICT, of course, as well as other areas such as English and maths.

Top of the pops

Start with the official charts site (www.theofficialcharts.com). As well as showing the current chart-toppers, it has an archive of the number one singles and albums, so ask students to look for records for significant dates such as their birthday, although be prepared to comfort any year 5s or year 9s who find they were born when the Teletubbies or Mr Blobby topped the charts.

Give them time to explore each other's taste in music. Explain the concept behind Desert Island Discs by looking at the website, focusing on well-known names such as Ricky Gervais or Nigella Lawson (www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/desertislanddiscs.shtml). Ask students to choose and discuss their top three records. If you can get a colleague (eg the headteacher) to model the process, so much the better.

Once you've established their tastes, ask them how they listen to music (eg CDs, radio, MP3 players, phones, internet). Encourage them to conduct a survey of how much music they listen to in one week and by what means. They can create a chart or graphs to show the results. Older students can then compare their listening habits with a wider picture by accessing the IFPI's Digital Music Report 2007 (www.ifpi.org/content/library/digital-music-report-2007.pdf).

It is technological developments that have brought about the modern music revolution. The advent of MP3 files, for example, which can compress music data by a factor of 10 or 12, allows songs to be transferred and downloaded relatively quickly. Get students to create a poster explaining MP3 files. How Stuff Works provides an accessible video on the process as well as more detail for older students (www.howstuffworks.com/mp3.htm).

Encourage students to find out more about the industry by investigating how a record label works (http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/record-label.htm), producing a cartoon strip to show the journey from unknown musician to successful recording artist. Older students can research some of the career options in the music industry, such as A&R, journalism and PR/promotion, and produce a series of card factfiles for a careers display aimed at young people (www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onemusic/industry).

Guy Hands, who bought EMI for £3bn, is focused on revitalising a business in decline rather than cosying up with pop legends. One of the big four record companies, alongside Sony BMG, Universal and Warner, EMI has an impressive pedigree. Students researching this British company will find the Beatles, Queen and Pink Floyd in its lists (www.emigroup.com/About/History/Default.htm). It currently has a roster of 14,000 artists. But artistic temperaments and lavish advances have led to Hands's plans for modernisation. Read a range of news reports on the issue, eg www.theguardian.com/media/2008/jan/16/citynews.privateequity, highlighting the arguments, before debating whether they agree with the hard-nosed businessman or the disgruntled pop star.

Digitisation is not the only music industry innovation. Reality TV has brought us Simon Cowell, and a series of short-lived successes on shows in which fame rather than the realisation of musical expression seems to be the motivating factor. Draw out the conventions of this type of programme (www.xfactor.tv) then have some fun using drama skills to create a parody of the show.

Next month's Brit Awards should reflect the state of British pop music. Give students a list of award categories, eg best single, best group, and ask for nominations. Compare their nominations with those on the Brits site (www.brits.co.uk). Do they think they are a fair representation of British music? Hold a class vote on the nominations to see whether the class can predict the results on February 20.